Head; Tanagra, Boeotia, 3rd century BC.

Head; Tanagra, Boeotia, 3rd century BC.
Terracotta.
Measurements: 5 x 4 cm.
In Beocia (Greece) this type of terracotta figures were used both as offerings in temples and sanctuaries as well as in funerary offerings. The first Greek sculptures dating from the 9th century BC were small human figures made of malleable materials such as clay, ivory or wax. It was not until the archaic period during the 7th and 6th centuries B.C. that the Greeks began to work with stone, however, preserving other materials, mainly ceramics due to the rise of this industry, for small pieces, destined to serve as offerings in temples or as part of funerary offerings.